Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. P. SOHENKL; BREEGH' LOADING FIREARM.

Patented Aug. 16

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. P. SCHENKL. BREEGH LOADING FIREARM.

No. 9,943. Patented Aug. 16, 1853.

3 SheetsSheet 3.

J. P. SOHENKL. BREEOH' LOADING FIREARM.

No. 9,943. Patented Aug. 16, 1853.

" UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOHN P. SCHENKL, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIeNoR ro J. P. I SOHENKLAND A. s. SARONJI.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRE ECH-LOADING FIRE -ARM S.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 9,943, dated August-16,1853.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jon): P. SCHENKL, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have made certain new and usefulImprovements in Breech-Loading Guns; and I hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the annexed drawings,

making part ofthe accompanying specification.

My invention is applicable to that class of firearms in which the breechis secured to the barrel of the gun by means of a screw upon .bothbreech and barrel, portions of each screw being cut away to allow thebreech to enter the barrel, when a portion of a turn of the breechsecures the two together; and my invention consists in a method ofunscrewing the breech from .the barrel and withdrawing the same, ofturning up the breech so as to bring its chamber into a verticalposition for loading, and then (returning the breech into the barrel andlocking the two together, which motions are performed through theinterven tion of appropriate cams, catches, and springs, by the motionof a single lever, worked by the hand of the gunner.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1 is a side view of a gun with myimprovement attached; Fig. 2, aside view of the same, the breech being unscrewed preparatory towithdrawal; Fig. 3, a side view of the gun with the breech withdrawn andin position for loading. Fig. 4 is a plan. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 aredetails, which will be referred to hereinafteiz In Fig. 10 is seen themanner in which the breech is secured to the barrel.

A screw is cutupon the end of the former, and a corresponding femaleupon the interipr of the barrel. These screws are then marked oli' intosix sections, and the threads upon every alternate section in each arecut away. It is then evident that by turning the breech so that thesections 3 upon which the threads re- 7 main be opposite to the sections3 of the female screw, from which the threads have been cut away, thatthe one may be slipped into the other. If, now, the breech be madetoperform a slxth of a revolution, the sections of the male screw uponwhich the threads remain will engage with the screw-sections ofthe-female, and the two will be drawn firmly together.

A is the gun-carriage; B, the barrel of the gun; C, the movable breech.

a a are straps secured to thebarrelof the gun. a is seen detached inFig. 5, and a in,

Fig. 9. i

D is a ring, which surrounds the breech, and in which the latter ispermittedto revolve. Upon each side of this ring is a pin, 1). Thesepins revolve and traverse in the slots 0 of the straps a a. The strap ahas also an irregular slot, (2 d t, in which plays a pin, e, secured tothe breech, and through which the latter is moved in a manner which willbe hereinafter explained.

f is a lever of the form represented in Fig. 6. Pivoted to this lever,at the point i, is an operating-dog, b,seen detached inFig. 7. This dogturns freely upon its pivot, and has near to one end a recess or notch,m, into which at certain junctures the tooth n of the spring 0.

Fig. 8, is allowed to fall. The tooth n is raised out of the notch m atcertain intervals by the pin a, which presses against the projection 12of the spring 0, and thus the tooth a is borne outward sufficiently toclear the lever h, which is thus permitted to drop of its own weight. gis the cover of the powder-pan.

Operation: In Fig. 1 the gun is represented with the breech in place.lVhenit is desired" to withdraw the same for reloading, the hanalong thesurface 9 of the lever, andis thereby raised through the verticalportion d of the.

strap a, carrying with it the breech, which is permitted to revolvewithin the ring D, and is thus unscrewed from the barrel of the gun. Atthe close of this first motion of the leverf the parts are in theposition represented in Fig. 2, the pin 0 inits passage having raisedthe spring-tooth n out of the notch m in the dog 71, which is thuspermitted to fall and grasp the pin 6 with its hook s, as seen in Fig.2. The motion of the lever f is now reversed, when the dog h forces thepin e alongthe horizontal portion (1 of the strap as until the pin 1)has reached the end of the slot 0, when the continued operation of thedog h causes the pin 6 to revolve round the in b and in the curvedportion t of the slot. This brings the parts into the position seen inFig. 3, the breech being in avertieal position and ready for load- Thebreech is now to be returned to its former position preparatory to beingfired. This is also effected by the motion of the lever f, assisted bythe hook S of the dog h, the lever striking the pin 6 and carrying itfirst through the curved portion t of the slot, which brings the breechagain into a horizontal position, and then, as the pin passes throughthe horizontal portion of the slot, the breech passes into the barrel.lever f remaining in the notch, m of the dog h, the latter is raised outof the way of pin a, as seen in dotted linesin Fig. 2. The breechis nowto be screwed to the barrel, and for this purpose receives a portion ofa turn, which is effected in the following manner: The lever f is againdepressed, and as the dog his held up out of the way by the spring toothor, the hooked portion '0 of the lever f passes over the pin e, which'isthusdepressed through the slot The spring-tooth n upon the for thepurpose of operating the movablebreech, constructed and arrangedsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 19th day ofApril, 1853.

J. P. SCHENKL.

Witnesses:

SAM. COOPER, H. B. SPINNEY.

